UMBC IRC shows how Baltimore looked 200 years ago, in 2.5 billion pixels

UMBC's Imaging Research Center worked more than two years recreating how Baltimore would have looked in the early 1800s. The goal is to create an accurate 3D model of the city, its terrain, land use, and buildings. In September of 2014, the first and major phase of this effort opened to the public at the Maryland Historical Society as part of their bicentennial celebration of the War of 1812 and Baltimore’s pivotal role in it.

BEARINGS of Baltimore, Circa 1815 is an interactive 2.5 billion pixel image that visualizes Baltimore City in 1815 – right after the attack by the British. UMBC's Imaging Research Center, in collaboration with the Maryland Historical Society and its network of historical scholars, has created an interactive touch-screen display at the Historical Society that allows viewers to tour the early city and understand its history.

This project was funded with generous support from the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation and from the Maryland Division of Tourism 1812 Bicentennial Commission.